Toon Warriors II: A Light In The Darkness
by raccoonqueentwo
Summary: In the town of Greenpatch, a mysterious demonic entity has possessed Shifty Dingo and sent him on a bloody rampage across the Toon World. Now the Toon Warriors are pitted into a race against time, as they try to vanquish the latest threat to the universe! Rated T for violence and a little bit of gore.
1. Prologue

A little too early for Halloween, but I couldn't resist! Welcome back to the newest episode of Toon Warriors; this time, the theme is not only about the spooky holiday itself, but it also explores the concept of good vs. evil (light against the darkness). The new villain here is Shifty Dingo, who is possessed by an unknown demonic entity (no name announced yet), determined to destroy anything or anyone that gets in his way in the name of revenge. His main target? Nutsy Koala, his distraught girlfriend and the physical embodiment of spiritual light and good. Will our heroes be able to help her rescue her loved one, before he ends up plunging the universe into a premature Apocalypse? Read on and find out!

 **DISCLAIMER** : The characters included in the series belong to Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, MGM, Disney, Nickelodeon, Dreamworks, Sega, Nintendo, DC, Marvel, 20th Century Fox, Sony Playstation, and all the rest. Charles Roberts, Alexander Armington II, and other related characters belong to Charles Roberts (a.k.a Dragon222 of DeviantArt). Jennifer Silverfur-Snooper belongs to me.

* * *

Prologue

It was like waking up to a neverending nightmare. Nutsy Koala watched in horror as the town of Greenpatch lit up on fire; it was even worse than the fire that once engulfed the Australian bushes years ago, and everything and everyone she knew and loved was slowly dying. But what scared her even more is that her childhood sweetheart, Shifty Dingo, was the one who started it all.

 _"Do you see it now, Nutsy?"_ he hissed evilly. _"Can you hear the distressed cries of your friends among the flames? Why won't you do anything to save them?"_

"Because you killed them!" she retorted angrily. "And I'll never forgive you for that. You're not the sweet Shifty I used to know!"

 _"Shifty Dingo is dead. There is only me. Why won't you be my queen? Think of all the great things we can do together; you can see your family and friends again IF you accept my proposal."_

Nutsy glared. Although the offer was tempting, she knew what he was up to. "No! I'd rather die alone than be forced to be your bride! I'll never love you!"

 _"Very well, then...you shall_ _ **DIE**_ _!"_

The demonic dingo pushed her into a burning building. His sadistic laughs, mingled with her screams of pain, echoed throughout the smoke-tinged air. As she struggled to breathe, Nutsy prayed that someone would come to her rescue...

"Miss Koala? Miss Koala, are you okay?"

Coughing weakly, Nutsy began to regain consciousness. She found herself inside the charred remains of the cafe, surrounded by groups of firefighters. The town had already been destroyed in a fire just like in her dream; she didn't know what became of her friends and relatives in the aftermath.

"Well, Greenpatch is as good as gone," said the firefighter, returning from inspecting the area. "It'll be ten years before it's rebuilt."

The second firefighter replied, "I doubt it. Whoever burnt it down must have wanted it to stay down. The real question is, who?"

"Might as well contact the International Toon Security Force; they have connections with lots of crime-fighting teams, especially one team I've heard about a while back."

"Who? The Toon Warriors?"

"They made headlines regarding saving both the Toon World and Human World from a fatal vampire pony virus. They're pretty famous now, so I'll bet they know who's responsible for this mess we've seen here."

Nutsy did not know who the Toon Warriors were, but she hoped they'll be the key to helping her solve the mystery of the missing townspeople of Greenpatch, and the boyfriend who suddenly betrayed her. As she slipped back into unconsciousness, he whispered silently and tearfully, "God, if it is Your will, please help the Toon Warriors bring my Shifty back...and everyone else, too..."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On a cool autumn afternoon, a walk through Central Park was just what Charles Roberts needed to help clear his mind. After having moved into the Toon World from his side of the universe a few months ago, he spent most of his days off getting to know every single area of New York City; he enjoyed the sights and sounds around the town that reminded him so much of its counterpart in the human world.

Life has been good for his team. Not too long ago, they had knocked down Rayian and his clan, leaving them locked up in Tartarus for threatening to disturb the spiritual balance between both worlds; the vampire pony virus had been completely wiped out and the Dark Void (where Rayian once ruled) fell into the hands of his ex-servants, most of them bad guys who had caused trouble in the Toon World in the past. Charles' involvement in defeating Rayian had earned him a new identity as a legend in his own right, and many humans and toons respected him well because of that.

As he strolled past the play area, a small red ball rolled up near him. Noticing the toy, Charles picked it up and turned to see who had thrown it. A young female rabbit, who appeared to be no more than seven years old, came up to him with a Chao following not far behind. She said, "Excuse me, Mister Roberts, can you hand me my ball?"

Charles smiled and handed the ball back to its rightful owner. He always had a soft spot in his heart for kids like her. He replied, "Hello, Cream. Hi, Cheese."

He looked up ahead to see her mother Vanilla and a large green crocodile he recognized as Vector sitting nearby. Vanilla was one of Bunnie's older sisters; she and Vector had been married for a year, and was now pregnant with her second child by him. Charles had learned that, in the Toon World, animals of all species _can_ interbreed, a feat deemed slightly impossible in the human world due to biological/reproductive differences. And hybrids resulting from such mixed marriages are almost always viable.

But what about humans? Can they be able to mate with animals, too? As a former human himself, Charles had trouble finding answers to that question. He thought about Bunnie, whom he had considered more of a friend than a lover; not even once during their missions did he openly admit to have developed feelings for her. And neither did she for him...yet.

The sound of his iPhone, blaring a snippet of John Cena's theme, interrupted his thoughts. He answered it, saying, "What's up?"

 _"Charles!"_ answered Bunnie on the other end. _"You need to come to the hospital quickly!"_

Sensing panic in her voice, Charles wanted to know what happened in the hospital that needed to be checked out. "Is there something wrong?"

 _"A new patient has been transfered here all the way from Australia. She needs our help right away!"_

Charles sighed as he hung up. As much as he wanted to spend the rest of his day off touring the city, he decided to put it off for a while to attend an emergency meeting at the NYC Medical Center. _"A cop's work is never done,"_ he thought.

He met up with the team at a room where the patient was being held. Snooper and Jenny, returning from their honeymoon on Naboo, were off to the side speaking with the doctor. The patient in question appeared to be a young adult female koala; Charles could have sworn he had seen her before, not just from the cartoons, but from a majority of the fanfics he had read back in the human world. He asked, "Nutsy Koala?"

"A survivor of the recent wildfire that wiped out Greenpatch last week," confirmed Jenny. "Firefighters from the area discovered her in the wreckage of the town's local cafe; many of the residents, including the girl's relatives, went missing during the ordeal. The cause of the wildfire still remains unknown."

"Any injuries she may have suffered?"

"Just some 3rd-degree burns, but she'll get by. In the meantime, we got word that a black red-eyed dingo-like creature has been seen attacking a great number of cities in Australia and Southeast Asia. It's not exactly known who it is or where it came from, but something about that creature looks rather...odd...and familiar."

She showed him a photo taken of said creature mauling a shopkeeper in Indonesia. It was just as the news reports described; the creature resembled a darker and more demonic version of Shifty Dingo, yet it was not certain whether or not it was really him. Charles commented, "That couldn't have been Shifty, could it?"

"He was thought to have died in the fire," answered Snooper. "Even I'm not so sure."

A few moments later, Nutsy woke up, still dazed from the events of last week. She murmurred, "Shifty...my poor sweet Shifty..."

Charles noticed this and went over to her. He showed her his badge and said, "Ms. Koala? This is Officer Charles Roberts of the NYPD, leader of the Toon Warriors. We'd like to ask you a few questions about the Greenpatch wildfire."

Nutsy heaved a sigh of relief. "I knew you could make it. I admit I don't remember much of what happened after the fire, but I do know what happened _before_ it."

"Would you mind telling us?"

"Well...it all started last week, on a Tuesday. I was at my stepbrother Blinky's wedding; everyone was there, our friends, our family, and...Shifty."

"Was there anything about him that appeared suspicious?"

"Only during the reception at the cafe. He had been acting strangely that night-giving the guests sour looks, making rude and obscene comments about our friends, no interest in food or dancing...he didn't even kiss me."

"Sounds like something a party pooper would do," joked Bert, before Bunnie angrily elbowed him in the stomach.

Nutsy continued, "But what really did it for me is that he...he...when my father was giving a toast, Shifty threw a molotov at my new sister-in-law...burned her to death...and set the whole place on fire. That was when I discovered the true nature behind his behavior; there was a monster inside of him, someone so dark and sinister, that refused to leave his soul. A literal monster...like a demon. Guests started disappearing...and, before he knocked me out, he said something about wanting to make me his 'queen'. It wasn't a very honest marriage proposal, but it sounded so threatening."

" _Mon Dieu!_ " gasped Fifi. "Zhat's, how you say, shocking!"

Charles nodded. He said, "We'll see what we can do. In the meantime, we'll have you put under witness protection; as long as you remain here in the US and don't go anywhere beyond its limits, you'll be fine."

"What can I do?" asked Nutsy.

Bunnie handed her a piece of paper, upon which were written directions to the UST Marshal's Witness Protection Unit. She replied, "As soon as you recover, go straight to this building in downtown Manhattan. There they'll give you directions, including how to use your assumed name and your pretext for coming to the States."

Nutsy took the papers and smiled weakly. "Thank you. I do hope you'll manage to rescue the townspeople, and pull Shifty out from whatever kind of demon is controlling him."

Charles nodded, before they left the room. Upon their return to the HQ, he gave a brief summary of what little information Nutsy had given them so far. He said, "So, Shifty has been possessed by a demon, its name and origins a mystery. Until we know what kind of demon we're dealing with I don't think this mission will be easy."

"Easy?" scoffed Bert. "If it was anything like that Red guy, I'd beat that mission with my hands tied behind my back!"

Jenny sat at the computer typing. She answered, "I'm afraid he's right, Bert. We don't have enough resources to handle demons or other similar supernatural entities; only a special kind of team in our police force does. They're called the International Demon Task Force."

"I don't think I've met them before," said Charles.

"Like their title indicates, they're a global team dedicating to locating and wiping out demons. They have divisions in more than 17 different countries and territories, including Australia, the UK, Canada, South America, Mexico, Central America, Africa, South Africa, France, Russia, and Asia. I know of only six leaders who lead some of those units-Deadpool of the Canadian Demon Force, Estelle LeChatte of the French Demon Force, Blade Pony of the Equestrian Demon Force, Dante of the Australian Demon Force, Jade Chan of the Asian Demon Force and, lastly, Hector Armington of the Mexican Demon Force."

Alex II raised his eyebrows. He asked, "We're bringing my cousin into this?"

"He's currently at the Speedy Gonzales Memorial Hospital with his wife. They just had a baby boy, but Hector's willing to put off paternity leave should an emergency like this ever occur. He sent me an E-mail saying he'll arrange a secret meeting in Mexico City next week; as long as nothing else goes wrong, we'll be one step ahead of this mission."

* * *

The first thing Blinky saw, upon regaining consciousness, were the walls of an old cave somewhere near the North Korean borders. While relieved to still be alive after the fire that consumed Greenpatch, he was worried; his stepsister had already went missing. He murmured, "…w…where am I? Where's Nutsy…?"

A demonic voice chuckled and said, _"Ah, Blinky, my future brother-in-law. At last you're awake."_ He looked to see Shifty walking towards him. There was something entirely different about the young dingo, which sent a chill up Blinky's spine. His innocence long gone, his soul had been overtaken by an evil entity, controlling him; his fur was as dark as the midnight sky and his eyes, once a gentle brown, were now blood-red.

Blinky asked, "Shifty…is that you?"

" _The Shifty Dingo you knew and loved is dead,"_ replied the possessed dingo. _"I am the new Shifty, king of all demons and future ruler over all that you see."_

"What have you done with Nutsy?"

" _Nothing…yet. At the moment, I have sent my men to hunt her down. I have big plans for her—very special plans, as a matter of fact."_

"Well, whatever they are, you'd better not hurt her! You'll pay for what you've done to Greenpatch!"

Shifty hushed the angry koala. He replied, _"Patience, my good friend, patience. You don't want to end up like the last sniveling prisoner who tried to stand up to me."_ He pointed towards what remained of one of Blinky's close friends, a mouse named Marcia; earlier she had been reduced to nothing but a pile of bones after she had defied the demon's orders to shut up. Blinky then looked towards the remaining prisoners, his family and friends, all locked up in a bone cage.

Shifty continued, _"If you wish to stay alive, you can do so by keeping your mouths shut. I don't want anyone, not_ _ **EVEN**_ _those blasted Toon Warriors, to know I am keeping all of you prisoner for the remainder of my mission. The last thing I'd want is someone throwing a wrench into my plot to capture and marry your stepsister!"_

Blinky was still defiant. "Rant all you want, Shifty, but you will _never_ have Nutsy! Not while I'm still alive!"

Shifty just smirked and shot lightning from his paws towards Blinky. The poor koala was struck and lay unconscious once again, much to the horror of the other prisoners. He sneered, _"And for the rest of you, one single peep and you're next! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a sinister wedding to plan, for me and my dear sweet Nutsy…"_ And so, the demonic dingo walked away, leaving the residents of Greenpatch to ponder their fates and hope they'd be rescued from this living nightmare.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daisy Dingo-Armington sighed as she gently placed her half-squirrel son into his crib into the nursery. It had only been three years since she left Greenpatch; following her lifelong dream to become a supermodel was one of the few reasons why she chose to ditch her emotionally abusive mother and brothers. It wasn't like she was better off without them, but still they were family to her regardless of how she was raised.

Those past three years spent in the US did her a world of good compared to her previous life in Greenpatch. First, she was ranked one of the best contestants in _America's Top Toon Model_ , then she went on to establish her own unique line of beauty products, _Aussie Queen_. And lastly, while participating in a photo shoot in Mexico, she met the man who would eventually become her husband-Hector Andreas Armington.

Back then he was a rookie of the Mexican Demon Division of the International Demon Task Force, a secret group with a mission to track and hunt down demons and other supernatural entities; Daisy at first was skeptical of his job because she never believed in such things. Only a near-death experience with Freddy Fazbear and his gang was enough to prove her wrong, and Hector had saved her life. The two were wed in a private Catholic wedding ceremony in Cancun, attended only by several members of the Armington family and Hector's team, and spent most of their honeymoon in the resort city itself.

However, after hearing what had become of Greenpatch a couple of weeks ago, Daisy was in shock. She hadn't seen much of her family in the past three years, and hearing the news about the fire that engulfed the town filled her with worry. Even the recent birth of her son didn't bring her any comfort at all; until her mother and brothers were declared alive, she was restless.

Hector strolled into the nursery to find his wife standing over the crib. He asked, "Still worried about your folks, Daisy?"

"You could say that," answered the dingo. "Ma…Danny…Meatball…and Shifty…I haven't heard from them in years."

"I'm sure they're still alive. We'll bring them back for you as soon as we find them. But, about Shifty, well…you're not gonna like what's happened to him."

Daisy gasped softly. "Is he dead?"

"Not exactly. There _is_ something different about him, though. I got an E-mail from Det. Silverfur-Snooper telling me about some otherworldly demon attacking several parts of Southeast Asia; a photo enclosed depicts the said demon mauling a shopkeeper. I printed it out so you can have a closer look."

Daisy snatched the piece of paper from her husband's hand and carefully read it. Upon coming across the photo in question, her heart nearly froze. After a soul-searching pause, she stammered wistfully, "…Shifty? _That's_ him? No…that _can't_ be him…!"

"More specifically, a demon is controlling him," explained Hector. "He almost killed his girlfriend Nutsy during the wildfire."

Daisy gazed up at her husband, a tear forming in her eye. "Is it…possible for him to be saved?"

Hector shook his head. "No one knows for sure, but my team's slowly working on a solution that, while stunning him, won't completely kill him. He'll be safe before you know it." Suddenly, his beeper rang, informing him that the Toon Warriors had already arrived. "Looks like they're here. Stay put while I go out to meet them; don't come out for any reason until I get back or I call for you."

Daisy nodded dutifully and watched her husband walk out the door. Her attention then wandered back to the crib, where their newborn son Vincent Dingo-Armington lay asleep. A hybrid of two different species, Vin (as his father liked to call him) resembled his mother except for the silvery grey fur and a squirrel-like tail that jutted out from his behind like an ostrich's tailfeathers. As she stroked the tuft of brown hair on his head, Daisy silently whispered a prayer for her husband's safety, hoping the new mission won't make a widow out of her.

* * *

 _"Major Blood, former right-hand man of Cobra Corps,"_ said Shifty, sitting on his bone throne. _"You're the man I need to hunt down my beloved and bring her back here in time for the wedding."_

A sinister-looking human man kneeled in front of the throne, flanked by a group of animatronics behind him. Major Blood was one of the most ruthless members of Cobra Corps during the 1980s; after being freed from prison by Shifty, the bounty hunter swore loyalty and service for his new boss. He was hired by the demon for only two purposes: to kidnap Nutsy and keep the Toon Warriors at bay.

Shifty continued, _"Don't forget I have given you a small portion of my powers, enabling you to ascertain the whereabouts of Nutsy Koala. She is hidden somewhere on the other side of the world at this moment; find her, bring her back to me, and you will be rewarded with a treasure bigger than Ali Baba's."_

The mention of treasure piqued the bounty hunter's interest. He replied, "I will do as you please. I suppose this is much better than having to do community service."

 _"But I have another specific request for you as well. Knowing the Toon Warriors will suspect what you are about to do, your secondary job is to distract them. That's why I've chosen…these."_

He gestured to a group of seven animatronics behind Major Blood. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Mangle, Balloon Boy, and the Puppet were the monsters from a run-down pizzeria outside of Detroit. Unlike Major Blood, the animatronics managed to escape the pizzeria on their own after it was burned down; they were later recruited by Shifty to accompany their leader on a quest for Nutsy.

Bewildered, Major Blood sneered, "What good would a bunch of living boltheads do to help me kidnap that koala?"

Shifty smirked. _"Oh, these aren't your average animatronics, Major Blood. I've given them the power to do something no other robot in this world can do. Freddy?"_

The bear nodded and, in a flash of dark purple light, shape-shifted into one of the prisoners. The rest of the gang followed suit. Major Blood couldn't believe his eyes. He gasped, "They can transform!"

 _"Indeed,"_ chuckled the demon. _"They are animatronics with the unholy power to take the shape of any person or object you can think of. No gears or equipment needed, just add dark magic."_

"Still, how can they help me kidnap Nutsy?"

 _"Simple. As soon as you grab her, have one of them imitate her to fool the Toon Warriors. They'll never even know the difference."_

Major Blood grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

The animatronics turned back into their original forms. Shifty said. _"Now go and find Nutsy, bring her back here alive and unharmed. Do_ _ **NOT**_ _let the Toon Warriors follow your trail…or else."_

"Or else you'll take my soul?" muttered Major Blood. He feared severe punishment more than anything in his lifetime.

The demon growled. _"Not only will I take your soul, but you will also be forced to share a jar with the souls of former servants who have failed me in the past. Their fate is much less worse than yours will be if you don't obey my orders."_

From behind the safety of the prison bars, Blinky watched with apprehension as Shifty sent Major Blood and the animatronics away to do his bidding. His fears were already being realized; they were going to kidnap his stepsister! He whispered, "Oh, Nutsy, please be safe. Don't let those bad guys get to you..."

* * *

Hector had agreed to meet the Toon Warriors at the Secretary of Public Security Building in downtown Mexico City. He, along with Dante, Deadpool, Blade, Jade and Estelle held a meeting to discuss what to do with Shifty and the demon controlling him from the inside.

"I was in Australia during the wildfire investigation," began Dante. "One of the first places I checked out was the area where locals said they had last seen the kid. That was when I felt a dark power near the burnt trashcan; it was this strange dark power, not unlike anything compared to Rayian's influence long ago." He opened a metal suitcase, put on latex gloves, and picked up a Ziploc bag containing a sort of black fiery ember. "I found this in the trashcan and deduced that it was the probable true source of Shifty's disappearance."

Charles said, "I guess that counts as evidence. Any more leads?"

Deadpool looked up from polishing his guns. He answered, "Not that I know of. I was hoping future chapters of this fanfiction could give us a few clues."

Jenny chuckled. She said, "That's Deadpool for ya. He always brings a little bit of humor to serious situations. But now's not the time for laughs; we need to find out exactly what happened to Shifty and where we can find him. He might be planning something big if he's so focused on capturing Nutsy."

Silence filled the room. Then Bert spoke up. "I'd hate to sound like a killjoy, but doesn't that big old rock have powers similar to Rayian's own?"

Alex II replied, "Rayian only takes control of his victims by biting them and sucking their blood. I doubt he would use a burning ember as a source of his powers; besides, he's already locked away in Tartarus with his wife and kids."

"Then that could mean only one thing..."

 _DING!_

The sound of a microwave interrupted the meeting. Bert looked over and said with a smile, "Oh, the cherry chimichangas are done."

The raccoon strolled over to the microwave and pulled out a plate of small chimichangas. Snooper groaned, "Cherry chimichangas? Seriously?"

"Hey, it's not my fault Deadpool introduced me to these things," answered Bert, as he and Deadpool proceeded to devour their lunch. "You should try them sometime. And they go great with peanut butter, too!"

Jenny facepalmed. She sighed, before saying, "Can we _please_ get back to the subject at hand? Now, whoever is controlling Shifty, it's not Rayian. I suspect another powerful demonic entity could be involved. Someone who may be using him as a tool for a possible world domination plot. Why else do you think he's after Nutsy?"

"I think I know what you're getting at," replied Bunnie. "If Shifty does end up capturing her, perhaps to imprison her, the only way we'll know where the demon is hiding is if he reveals his true form. I hope you're not suggesting that we leave Nutsy alone and unattended by herself."

Charles said, "No need to worry. Just before we left New York, I've asked Inspector Fox and her Interpol cohorts to guard the perimeters of the hospital. No one is allowed inside except authority figures like us. What could possibly go wrong?"

Just then, Twilight Sparkle walked in, levitating Charles' iPhone with her telekinesis. She said, "Uh, Charles? You might want to take that last line back. You have an emergency call from Inspector Fox."

Charles took the iPhone and answered it. The face of Carmelita Fox, Interpol officer and Sly Cooper's girlfriend, appeared on the screen; behind her the rest of the Interpol officers were being brutally slaughtered by what appeared to be animatronics from an old pizzeria. But what disturbed him the most is that there was something completely off about Freddy and his gang, something...dark.

 _"Officer Roberts!"_ she yelled. _"This is Inspector Fox, reporting from the front entrance of the NYC Medical Center. We're under attack b-"_ She quickly paused to dodge a massive fireball thrown by Bonnie. _"We're under attack by the animatronics from Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria!"_

Charles inquired, "The same ones responsible for the infamous Bite of '87?"

 _"Only the original four, but this time they've brought some friends. We've also caught sight of a man leading them all, an escaped prisoner..."_

"MAJOR BLOOD?" the team exclaimed in unison, shocked.

Jenny said, "So that Cobra henchman somehow managed to escape prison? Since when? Dad put him away almost twenty-five years ago!"

 _"Not unless you count who 'rescued' him last night."_

A look of horror appeared on the cat's face. Before she could say anything else, Major Blood appeared and snatched the phone away from Carmelita. He yelled, _"Time's up, vixen! One false move and I'll turn ya into pelt! Toon Warriors, if you're hearing this, you're already too late; Nutsy is well on her way to being crowned the Demon Queen! So why don't you go play with your little guns and mind your own business? Ta-ta!"_

As soon as the iPhone cut back off, Charles quickly grabbed his weapons. He said, "We need to hurry back to New York and save Nutsy before Major Blood gets to her!"

"What about our demon problem?" asked Dog.

"We'll cross that bridge when we find it, Dog. Her safety is more important. Shadow?"

Shadow nodded and took out the Chaos Emeralds, ready to teleport the whole team back to the hospital. "CHAOS CONTROL!"

Arriving back at the hospital, the Toon Warriors and IDTF Division members were in for a shock. The site of the previous battle looked strangely...quiet and normal. The Interpol officers were still there, guarding the entrance just as Charles predicted. Even stranger, both Major Blood and the animatronics were nowhere to be found.

Sonic muttered, "Something's not right. Wasn't there a big fight that happened here a few minutes ago?"

"Looks pretty normal to me," replied Alex II. "The officers are still there, so my guess is the fight never happened and Nutsy is still safe. Let's go see if she's okay."

Upon arriving at the hospital room, the team was relieved. Nutsy was asleep in her bed, showing no signs of stress or injury. Charles walked over to the bedside and whispered, "Nutsy...?"

The koala stirred in her sleep, yet said nothing. Charles continued, "Nutsy, answer me. Are you okay?"

Estelle whipped out her demon scanner and used it to search for any signs of paranormal activity. However, when she pointed it towards the hospital bed where Nutsy lay, the device emitted a series of fast high-pitched beeps. She warned, "Monsieur Roberts, I wouldn't go near her if I were you."

"What's wrong with her?" asked Charles. "She's only sleeping."

"That's not the Nutsy we know. The scanner is showing very high readings of paranormal activity in this room; a demon is among us even as we speak!"

"But how can you tell if-"

"BACK AWAY! NOW!"

Suddenly, Nutsy sat up in bed with a start and...ROARED! A set of sharp metal teeth were seen in her mouth and her eyes were a bright yellow. They quickly reached for their guns and started shooting; the bullets did nothing to stop the doppleganger.

"Now what?" cried Deadpool. "Those silver bullets won't work!"

Estelle replied, "Then it's time for our secret weapon!" She pulled out a small vial of holy water, carefully dipped a cartridge of bullets in it, then reloaded her gun. She uttered a quick prayer in French before aiming at pseudo-Nutsy's chest and pulling the trigger. The creature emitted a harsh metallic shriek of pain, and fell down dead on the cold floor.

Once the team moved in to get a closer look, the creature's facade melted away to reveal a grotesque white animatronic fox. Jenny commented, "Mangle. I should have known Major Blood would be behind this. But, what about..."

"The Interpol officers were fake," explained Estelle, kneeling down to examine the downed robot. "It appears the pizzeria's animatronics have suddenly gained the ability to imitate other people; they can even bend reality at will by creating illusions, giving their victims a false sense of security, hence letting their guard down. A mistake we will never repeat again."

Charles rubbed the back of his neck, embarassed. He asked, "Then whatever happened to the real Nutsy?"

"Perhaps if we take a look at the footage from the security camera, we'll know."

With permission from the hospital's security guard, the team looked at a tape of what had happened in the room before they arrived. There they witnessed Foxy and Chica dragging Nutsy out of her bed, and Bonnie putting a choloroform-soaked paper towel to the koala's nose; she immediately went limp into Foxy's arms, after which Major Blood ordered Mangle to take her place. Bert said, "So that's what happened?"

Charles looked towards the team. He declared, "Major Blood made a major mistake of kidnapping Nutsy Koala. We can't let him or Shifty get away with this crime; we will need to track them down and take her back before she makes it to his hideout, wherever it may be."

" _Oui_ ," answered Fifi, nodding. "But something tells moi eet will not be easy."

Alex II agreed. He added, "It'll take a miracle for something to happen that can keep Major Blood from reaching the hideout. Knowing him, he'll lay out many traps to get us off of his back. Who knows where he could be at this time?"

Not very far away, a young adult raccoon in his mid-20s walked out of a bank. He resembled Bert, except that he was taller and had a slightly boyish appearance, wearing a blue polo shirt with white jacket and pants. Walking towards his Porshe, the male raccoon had only reached into his pocket to get the keys, when a large van with a Cobra Corps insignia on the side sped past him and brushed against the side of his car.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY, YOU INCOMPETENT WHELP!" Major Blood was heard shouting. He poked his head out of the window and, with a leer, gave him the finger. The raccoon frowned; no one scratches his favorite Porshe and gets away with it.

He whipped out his cellphone, dialed a number, and said, "Mr. LeChien, hold all plans for the scheduled film shooting. I'm gonna get the jerk who ruined my car!"


End file.
